/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/GO5HFNC2SBPZBAMVIFNIOR6DFY.jpg "Wagner of Russia begins to withdraw units from Bakhmut – Prigozhin")
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May 25 (Reuters) – The Russian mercenary group Wagner has begun withdrawing its forces from the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut and transferring their positions there to regular Russian troops, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video posted on Thursday.
“We are withdrawing units from Bakhmut. From today at 5 am, May 25 to June 1, most of the units will move to rear camps. We are handing over our positions to the military,” he said.
(1/3) The founder of the Wagner private mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, makes a statement on the start of the withdrawal of his forces from Bakhmut and the handing over of their positions to Russian regular troops, in the course of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in Bakhmut , Ukraine, in this still image taken from video…
The video was posted on Telegram by his press service and showed Prigozhin dressed in combat gear and standing next to a war-damaged residential block.
Prigozhin announced the capture of Bakhmut on Saturday after the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.
In the latest video, Prigozhin, who has repeatedly publicly criticized top Russian defense officials, said his forces would be ready to return to Bakhmut if the regular army could not handle the situation.
Reporting from Reuters, written by Mark Trevelyan
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